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Liberals refuse to make needed spending cuts

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Let’s see now.

Finance Minister Charles Sousa insists he intends to balance the province’s books by 2017-2018.

He even repeated that mantra this past Friday.

“I am looking forward to talking to you next week,” he said to reporters, referring to the fall economic statement he will deliver Thursday.

“We are on track to balance the books by 2017-18 and every decision we make is about how we help create a job and how we help businesses create jobs.”

But as Don Drummond said in his well-articulated report of early 2012, that would mean targeting a spending level across the entire Ontario government that is a whopping 17% lower than now — meaning drastically limiting spending on programs, which also factors into consideration population and inflation growth.

Drummond called that a “wrenching reduction from the path” provincial spending is now on.

He also said to put the province on a sustainable path, the growth in Ontario’s debt burden must also be severely curtailed.

“Ontario must act soon to put its finance on a sustainable path and must be prepared for tough action ... at least until 2018,” he wrote.

So I asked Sousa how close he was to reaching that 17% target, given that 2017 is closer than he thinks.

He insisted more than 60% of Drummond’s recommendations have been “put forward” and as a result of the work they’ve done, they’ve been able to control spending growth by under 1% the year.

In fact, he crowed, Ontario is the “lowest cost government in Canada.”

When I suggested they still had that 17% target to reach, Sousa said they’re going to continue “advancing and looking at ways” to control their spending.

He also insisted he and his Liberal colleagues can say “No” to union and special interest group demands because this is not at all about “election cycle politics” or “what’s in it” for their government, but about “what’s in it” for the people of Ontario.

Excuse me for a moment while I laugh hysterically. Does the man think Ontarians are morons?

Every single thing Sousa and our unelected Premier Kathleen Wynne does is about what’s in it for them, and them alone — from reopening contracts with the high school and elementary teachers unions (for a cool $500-million extra) to shore up support in the next election, to naming close to 40 panels, taskforces and roundtables (costing us on average $50,000 each) so they can pretend they’re doing busywork on major policies instead of actually making hard decisions.

I won’t even mention the litany of Liberal spending scandals that have managed to flush billions of dollars down the toilet.

PC Finance Critic Vic Fedeli said not one of the “big-ticket items” proposed by Drummond — that is, the ones that might cause many of those pet Liberal stakeholders to threaten to withdraw their support — have been implemented by Sousa and Co.

He pointed out that 33% of the health budget is wasted — noting for example that the LHINs are a $300-million level of bureaucracy that does nothing related to frontline care like taking an MRI or applying a bandage.

“This is just a level of bureaucracy to buffer the Liberals,” he said of the LHINs.

Fedeli said the Liberals couldn’t even stick to their promise to freeze wages — 8 out of 10 ministries, agencies, boards and commissions received wage increases in the last year — and that this year alone, they’re adding $20-billion to the debt they’re supposed to be reining under control.

Since revenue is not going higher and spending is not getting any lower, Fedeli figures it will take “pixie dust” to balance the books by 2017-2018.

“We can’t imagine what kind of pixie dust they’re going to sprinkle ... that’s a real problem for Ontario,” he said.

No one is fooled either by the new green bonds — apparently to fund transit — which the premier unveiled last week. They’re just another “gimmick” that will do nothing to address the province’s economic woes, Fedeli added, noting Wynne doesn’t seem to realize those bonds will have to be paid back with interest.

“They’ve come up with a new colour for debt,” adds Candice Malcolm, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

She said she’s not expecting something different or shocking from Thursday’s economic statement considering this government is “pretty clueless” when it comes to creating jobs and growing the economy.

Malcolm said she’s seen no sign that they intend to come anywhere near the spending reduction targets raised in the Drummond report, especially considering spending has increased by 4.1% this year.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said. “But I don’t have a lot of faith in this finance minister and this premier.”

sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca

 

Ontario’s economy by the numbers:

• Province’s debt at end of 2013: $273 billion
• Province’s debt in 2003: $139 billion
• Amount to be added to debt this year: $20 billion
• Debt owed by each Ontarian, including babies: $19,928
• Amount owed in debt interest this year: $10.4 bilion
•How much interest on debt would increase if 1% hike in interest rates: $408 million
•Latest credit rating downgrade: Moody’s, Ontario went to Aa2 (stable) from Aa1 (negative)
• Amount Drummond report said province had to reduce in real spending to balance books in 2017-2018: 17%
• Amount reduced so far: 0%

 

 

 

 

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